GOP, Reichert set 'suburban' plan

Strategy aims to avert House loss

By CHARLES POPE, P-I WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT

Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, May 10, 2006

WASHINGTON -- In 1994 and in every election since, House Republicans have protected their majority with a simple strategy -- dominate the suburbs, the land of soccer moms and NASCAR dads who have forged a sturdy firewall against Democratic intrusions.

But with polls showing Republicans at their weakest in a decade driving GOP worries that Democrats could win back the House, inner suburbs from Seattle to Orlando, Fla., and everywhere in between are suddenly in play, emerging as the fiercest battlegrounds of the November elections.

It's one reason Republicans held a news conference Wednesday to unveil a "Suburban Agenda" outlining plans for keeping gangs and Internet predators out of communities, improving the quality of teachers at local schools and preserving green space.

"Suburban families feel that they are under attack, and now it is time for their voices to be heard in Congress," said Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., chairman of the so-called suburban caucus.

"When you ask suburban families what their top priorities are, they will tell you over and over again: education, health care, the conservation of the environment. And this agenda is meant to meet those needs," said Kirk, who was flanked by Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., and more than two dozen others.

The package is tailored squarely for the soccer mom, the famous class of voters who want tough law enforcement and strong schools but who are also moderate on such issues as abortion and gay marriage. Polls show those voters are among the most disenchanted with President Bush and the Republicans.

It is why, according to one independent analyst, Reichert, from Bellevue, and two dozen other endangered Republican incumbents marched into a small, stuffy conference room to reveal their plans for protecting the suburbs.

"If you look at the names of the members who attended the press conference, it reads like the DCCC target list," said Amy Walter, an independent analyst of House races for the Cook Political Report. The DCCC is the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the organization responsible for electing Democrats to the House.

"For some of the Republicans from inner suburban districts, it's like they're ticking time bombs politically," Walter said, when asked why Republicans want to refocus the debate.

Reichert said in an interview that he pays no attention to the large political significance of the suburban agenda. Rather, the issues covered by the package are important to his constituents.

"Every vote counts, whether it comes from the rural areas or the suburban areas or the inner city of Bellevue, if you want to call it that," he said.

"I hadn't really thought about softening the image of the Republican Party. I don't even think about the party as a whole, that doesn't even enter my mind. What I think about is how am I serving the people in the 8th District; what can I do to serve my constituents?"

Reichert has sponsored the Gang Elimination Act of 2006, which would survey the country and determine the three most dangerous gangs. That information would be passed on to the Justice Department, which would be responsible for eliminating the gangs within four years.

"We're going to create a gangs most-wanted list," said Reichert, the former King County sheriff who is facing a tougher-than-expected challenge from Democrat Darcy Burner in a district that has voted for Al Gore, Christine Gregoire and Patty Murray in past elections.

"Gangs have moved from the inner cities to the suburbs over the last several years. It is a problem in our high schools and junior high schools across our nation and in suburbia."

Reichert is part of the Suburban Caucus, a collection of 50 Republican lawmakers who, analysts say, are among the most vulnerable incumbents. Driven by changing demographics and declining approval ratings for Bush and Republicans in general, analysts say, Republicans need to change the conversation from Iraq and rising gas prices.

A CBS News/New York Times poll released Wednesday found Bush with a 31 percent approval rating, the lowest for a president since his father's 31 percent in 1992.

Congress was disliked even more, as the poll found that only 23 percent of voters approved of the job it was doing.

Republicans hold a 15-seat majority in the House. Democrats believe they can pick up seats such as Reichert's in inner suburbs, where voters tend to be more moderate on social issues; polls show they disagree with Republican policies on abortion, gay marriage and the war in Iraq.

Democrats immediately focused on those divisive issues.

"Suburban voters care about fiscal responsibility and privacy, but this Republican Congress has run up an $8 trillion debt and has gotten intimately involved in the private lives of individuals like Terri Schiavo," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

"Gas prices are higher, prescription drugs are more expensive, and college tuition is out of reach for American families. If you're going to have an agenda that speaks to voters' interests, you can't have a record that conflicts with it," Emanuel said.